Follow the Money

Do you ever wish you knew where candidates were receiving donations?  Do ever wish you knew which corporations were donating to local candidates?  If so, you're in luck.

Earlier this month, the Missouri Ethics Commission released a new web tutorial, Follow the Money.  This tutorial is a great introduction for first-time users of the wealth of information available on the Missouri Ethics Commission website.

The tutorial explains how to use the MEC.gov databases to see:

• Candidates, for a specific election, registered with the Commission and compare the money reported received and spent between the candidates
• Candidates’ financial information 
• Contributions made by a specific contributor and money paid to individuals/companies 
• Money > $5,000 received and reported, within 48 hours, by candidates 
• Money reported spent on behalf of candidates, by other committees

For instance, if I wanted to see contributions by a specific company, I search by contributor (in this case, I choose Cerner, an international healthcare company based in Kansas City).  I can choose the year from which I want to view data and then type in "Cerner" as the Business/Org. Name.

 
My results list every contribution made by Cerner Corperation during my selected year.  By far, the largest donation made during 2012 was a monetary contribution of $25,000 to support incumbent Governor Jay Nixon.  This donation is entirely legal, of course; as I mentioned in an earlier post, Missouri has no legal limits on contributions to candidates for state and local office.

While not illegal, large corporate donations to candidates or parties represent vested interests on the part of corporations and are an easy way to tell who stands to gain from the outcome of an election.

Tools like the MEC database are a great way for voters to stay informed about how candidates raise support for their campaign and also provide an insight into the type of candidate each donor believes will best protect their interests.  Follow the money!